Have a Break, Download a KitKat

Google confirmed latest Android version’s name as KitKat

Sucheta Shankar, Staff Writer

A sweet buzz is generating over Google Android 4.4, more affectionately known as Android KitKat, the latest Android operating system. Google’s Sundar Pichai, head of Android and Chrome, confirmed that the next version of Android will be named KitKat as opposed to the rumoured name, Key Lime Pie.

While the decision to name the OS after the chocolate bar might be seen as a marketing ploy, John Lagerling, director of Android global partnerships, insists that the idea was simply “fun and unexpected.”

But why did name Key Lime Pie get replaced? “We realized that very few people actually know the taste of a key lime pie,” Lagerling explains. “One of the snacks that we keep in our kitchen for late-night coding are KitKats. And someone said ‘Hey, why don’t we call the release KitKat?'”

The unknown bitter taste of this deal could potentially arise in the days to come. Simon Myers, partner at the consultancy firm Prophet, warns, “if your brand is hooked up with another, you inevitably become associated with that other brand, for good or ill.”

It is impossible to gauge if a scandal will sour the reputation of either brands just yet. In the mean time, Nestle is satisfying a lot of sweet teeth through the creation of more than 50 million chocolate bars featuring the Android mascot to shops in several places, including UK, US and India.

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